“We enjoyed a fantastic day of yellowtail fishing along the beach,” recollected Excel skipper Justin Fleck July 7, “to start off our trip. The forktails started biting in the dark and continued biting throughout the day. Most of the yellows were in the 14-22 pound class with a few bigger and a few smaller. We are going to be here again tomorrow to see if we can do it all over again.”
“Kicked Bass Butt”
“More good fishing today,” said the report from Qualifier 105 for July 6. “We fished on the mainland of Baja. A new area for most and it was very good. The bass fishing was as good as it gets. Some times, we would catch a fish on every cast for long stretches at a time. First, run of the day we absolutely kicked bass butt. We had 4 fish on at a time a lot of the time and we had a blast. The big boat went for some more yellows and that was good. The big fish of the day went to Wayne "Coop" Cooper with a bass pushing 10 lbs, a trophy for sure. At the end of the day, we dropped anchor near the kelp and we all landed fish for about an hour. It was also wide open as we all landed 20 to 40 bass from the big boat. It was a great way to finish a fantastic day.”
Heavy Caliber Trip
“We finished off the tuna fishing by 1:00 PM,” wrote Red Rooster III skipper Andy Cates July 7, “and started heading up. We made a couple of stops on the ridge and now are breaking down the gear for the ride home. It was another great morning of fishing. I can't say the caliber was as heavy as yesterday but it was really just perfect for what we had planned. We are heading up and may look at the area where we had yellows on kelps. Not to catch more but to check it out for the next trip. Nice weather right now and we are hoping for more of the same.”
Tuna Swarm Like Flies“For action, location, weather, quality, scenery, and production, real deal type production; the kind that initiates steady attrition at the rail long before day's end, it would be very difficult to best today's results,” posited Royal Star skipper Tim Ekstrom July 6. “This is what we came for; one of those days that falls somewhere in the maybe 50:1 ratio; meaning there are fifty days we spend out here on average looking for this one day of extraordinary opportunity.
“After a couple of morning hits that began our day with 18 to 25-pound school fish the second stop became the last. Slowly but surely the bigger 40 to 70-pound yellowfin tuna began taking over. In classic "plunker" form we poked our way along always managing to keep at least one or two on the line with the occasional flurry for five or six; It was building however; many subtle indications pointed to better things in store. And come early afternoon something hit the switch, the bottom came up, and everyone had one on. Combined with flat calm, perfect overhead sunlight, and crystal clear, blue water the show on 40 to 70-pound class tuna swarming under us like flies was worth the admission price alone. It is a rare sight to see this size class fish all wound up providing this kind of display; again, roughly 50:1.
“Though I could draw upon so many moments to describe the caliber of today's events one probably best fits the narrative. Royal Star veteran Chris Hendrickson, who is well versed in this style of fishing, was quick to react when the bigger tuna dropped their guard. Obviously time to rack the stealth outfits rigged with short shots of 40-pound fluorocarbon and smaller reels, Chris immediately heeded our call arriving at the rail with his heavy outfit ready to even the odds. As he swung his sardine into a veritable aquarium of swarming tuna, literally right under his feet, one 60 pound, 'Michael Jordan' of tunas, shot from the water in a leap that covered no less than ten feet horizontal distance, three or four feet vertical, and consumed his bait in mid air. The stunning display was made that much better by Chris throwing the drag lever forward before the tuna even hit the water and watching his line come tight to the tuna flying through the air heading away from him at about Mach 10.
“The ultimate testament to a superb day of fishing was the five to eight o'clock p.m. time period that saw the majority percentage of anglers enjoying the moment, imbibing in spirits, joking and ribbing one another, all the while ignoring the fact that they could toss a bait at any time and hook another 40 to 70-pound tuna. Our day's results were directly attributed to horsepower. How many did we catch? As many as we wanted, today. In conflict with the cardinal rule of don't assume anything good will follow into the next day, these self-regulating anglers pulled back on the reins saving a few for tomorrow; we'll see how it works out.
“Photo of the day features Royal Star veteran from back east Gina Giordano who makes this voyage every few years with her dad John Warren. Easy going and quick to smile, Gina held her own on the tuna today landing two or three to her complete satisfaction. Of course she could have caught more, a lot more, but true to her nature she enjoyed an easier pace watching the show and jumping in the fray on a limited basis. Here is Gina with crewman Blake Wasano and a 'stock' grade tuna landed from one of her kite rotations today."
Searcher Trip Wrap-Up“We saw plenty of fish this afternoon,” said Art Taylor’s report for July 5, “and managed to land another three bluefin tuna for a total of 13. The last one we landed was around 50 pounds and was caught by Mike Ploessel of Laguna Niguel. Not a bad outing for Mike with a large Opah and a 50-pound tuna. Everyone had a chance at some quality bluefin today. Thanks to Patrick Gee and Let's Talk Hook-up for another great On-the-Water seminar sponsored by Shimano.”
